Ambitious proposals to regenerate Bristol’s Broadmead shopping area have taken a huge step forward this afternoon after winning favour from Bristol City Council - but we'll have to wait a little longer before the plans are formally approved.

The scheme will see the shopping area given a new lease of life, with new shops, restaurants, bars, green spaces, leisure facilities, a car park and up to 150 homes all set to be built. Works are provisionally scheduled to begin in 2020 and it is hoped the project will be completed by 2022.

The plans were first revealed back in October and were recommended for approval by Bristol City Council officers, so long as 60 low-cost homes are built and a financial contribution towards public transport is also made.

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Members of the council’s development control committee gave approval to the plans 'in principle' at a meeting this afternoon, but could not formally grant outline planning permission as they felt major changes were needed to the scheme's proposed multi-storey car park and transport access.

Councillors raised numerous objections to the proposed access to the site through Brunswick Square in St Paul's, and agreed the 500-space car park would need to either be reduced in size, relocated or scrapped completely if the scheme was to happen.

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Developers Bristol Alliance will now have to work alongside council officers to revise transport and access - and address concerns over air quality - ahead of the committee's next meeting in October. Once these issues are addressed, the committee will then grant outline planning permission - the first step in allowing Broadmead's regeneration to happen.

The area of Broadmead set for redevelopment.

Speaking this afternoon, Cllr Mike Davies said: "So much has to be sacrificed just for this car park... it’s back to the bad old days of car-centric 1960s planning."

As a result of the concerns, a new proposal was drawn up by the committee, and attached to the current application. The amendment said: "The committee considers car park access via Brunswick Square to be unacceptable - therefore the proposed car park must be reduced and possibly moved or totally eliminated to allow a more sensitive alternate solution.

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Committee chairman Cllr Chris Windows added: “I feel this is probably one of the most important outline decisions we’ve had put before us.

“Whilst I appreciate the concerns of others, I also feel that I want to see our city prosper. It’s in everybody’s interests - everyone who lives or works in this city needs it to prosper. If we reject this out of hand, where’s that going to come from?"

Opponents to the car parking scheme include Bristol’s Green councillors, Historic England, Bristol Cycling Campaign, the South West Transport Network, the Kingsdown Conservation Group and National Car Parks (NCP), which owns the existing car park next to where the new one will be built.